Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy are extremely close friends away from the golf course.
Fleetwood may not have won as much as McIlroy has, but the Englishman is equally as competitive on the course as the Northern Irishman is.
It was no surprise to see Fleetwood and McIlroy forge a formidable Ryder Cup partnership for Team Europe at Bethpage Black in September.
Who will win more on the PGA Tour in 2026 out of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood?
Will anyone end 2026 with more PGA Tour wins than Scottie?
The 34-year-old went into the Ryder Cup full of confidence after he earned his first PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship.
Fleetwood experienced numerous heartbreaking runner-up finishes in 2025, before finally getting over the line and winning at East Lake.
At the start of 2026, Fleetwood said his main goal was to close the gap on McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler at the top of the world rankings.
He will be expecting to win multiple times this year and to challenge in all four major championships.
Fleetwood has definitely now proven that he belongs inside the top five of the world rankings.
Why Rory McIlroy was worried about Tommy Fleetwood
After Fleetwood won on the DP World Tour in India back in November, McIlroy spoke very highly of his close friend.
However, he did highlight one worry he had about the Englishman, before he got the monkey off his back and won on the PGA Tour.
“I think he’s played similar golf before, but he is now finishing it off. He’s had an unbelievable summer,“ McIlroy said.
“With the close calls and then finally getting the job done in Atlanta and obviously had an unbelievable Ryder Cup – I am very lucky he’s my foursomes partner. Then the win in India and playing well again last week in Abu Dhabi.
“Yeah, he’s been a world-class player for a long time, but I feel the close calls this year, then finally getting over that hurdle, I feel like he’s elevated himself to that next level.”
McIlroy was asked if he had noticed a change in Fleetwood in the lead-up to his victory in Atlanta.
“I think seeing his reaction to winning it in Atlanta,” he said.
“I would never say I questioned how much he wanted. But, like, he’s always been so nice….so nice! Then I’m like ‘is he too nice?’
“Because you need to have that little bit of edge, p***k in you, whatever you want to call it. I know I have it and I feel like that’s what you need to win.
“I think it is harder for Tommy to feel that than others because of how nice and empathetic he is. But I feel like he has developed that little bit of edge this year.”
McIlroy actually has a fair point. Because Fleetwood is so nice, it must be hard for him to have that extra competitive edge when coming down the stretch of a final round.
However, he has now proven that he’s got what it takes.
Tommy Fleetwood disagrees with Rory McIlroy’s concern about him
Ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Fleetwood was asked whether he has proven that nice guys can win on the PGA Tour.
“I hope so,“ Fleetwood said.
What specific part Tommy Fleetwood’s game do you think he must improve if he is to ever win a major?
“Hopefully the same amount of people that liked me before still like me now. I think, yeah, I don’t know what that stigma is about like too nice to win or nice guys — you know, nice guys can win, of course.
“I think I’ve always prided myself on being a good person, a nice guy, but I also love playing golf and competing. I just, for whatever I hadn’t done before or hadn’t won tournaments or hadn’t gone my way, I felt like I just continued to learn and grow as a competitor as well.
“But no, I definitely looked at things and tried to analyze what I did right and what I did wrong. Hopefully Rory still thinks I’m a nice guy.“
Fleetwood is naturally a very nice person.
However, when he’s competing, he wants to win just as much as every other player does.
Fleetwood will be hoping to prove McIlroy wrong again in 2026, and on multiple occasions this time!
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